Board Members

Beverly May, OHRR Founding Director and Planning Team Chair, is currently the treasurer and CFO of a very successful non-profit educational organization, the Teaching & Learning Collaborative, a position she has held for 6 years. She had the initial vision for the rabbit rescue group because she has parented rabbits for 20 years and has seen the need for a focus on the rescue of rabbits in addition to cats and dogs. Beverly acts as the shelter manager at the Ohio House Rabbit Adoption Center and oversees the largest OHRR foster home. She is a member of the Columbus House Rabbit Society.

Pat Barron, Chair of the OHRR Board of Directors, has served for 18 years as the Director of a non-profit organization, the Teaching & Learning Collaborative and its predecessor organization, the Science & Mathematics Network. Both organizations focused on science and mathematics professional development for teachers. She has overseen statewide professional development programs and has experience in grant writing and corporate development. Pat also Co-Chairs the committee that plans Midwest BunFest and is a member of the Columbus House Rabbit Society.

Kim Banks, OHRR Board Member, is mom to a bonded pair of rabbits, Louis and Frosty Paws, and has a varying number of OHRR fosters in her house depending on the day. She works as a naturalist for Preservation Parks of Delaware County and also has dogs and turtles. Her first rabbit was found abandoned in a park in 2002 and since then she continues to be surprised by their humor, intelligence and resilience! She dreams of world in which all the “I had a rabbit once…” stories have happy endings!

Dr. Nancy Betz, OHRR Board member, spent 37 years on the faculty in the Department of Psychology at Ohio State University and currently holds the title Emeritus Professor of Psychology. Nancy has long been a supporter of animal rescue and welfare and has both adopted and found homes for numerous cats and a few dogs. But she fell totally in love with rabbits when she adopted a first grade classroom bunny abandoned at the end of the school year. This bunny, Gabriella Betz, is now adored by her humans and is the undisputed boss of four cats. Nancy works on the Midwest Bunfest committee and is absolutely thrilled at being involved in the establishment and maintenance of the first rabbit Adoption Center in Ohio.

Mary Beth Parisi, OHRR Board Member and Co-Chair/Instigator of Midwest BunFest, has been the Chief Information Officer at the Ohio Environmental Protection agency since June of 2011. She is also an advisor and Board Member for the Governor’s Statewide IT Transformation and a member of the State Multi-agency CIO Counsel. Mary Beth has been a rabbit parent since 2007. She has 5 house rabbits that she rescued, and occasionally fosters rabbits for OHRR. She is a member of the Columbus House Rabbit Society and a former Capital Area Humane Society rabbit foster parent.